Players might not know how the voices of their favorite characters are put into their games, but as it turns out, it’s a lot of work. Someone who knows this very well is Simonne Stoneley, Senior Production Manager at SIDE, PTW’s game audio arm. She’s a master planner and coordinator who’s worked on many notable popular titles, even though video games were not originally part of her career path. Let’s get to know her a bit better.

Origins

Before SIDE, Simonne began in the performing arts working for a marching band, then became a News Director at a radio station before moving to video production. She joined SIDE London in 2019, bringing along her production skills, her American friendliness (being originally from Missouri), and the goal of developing into a great production manager. “My husband spotted the job ad for SIDE and sent it to me, saying, ‘This company helped make that game you’re always playing’,” she reveals. “It was The Witcher 3! And the rest is history.”

Simonne quickly became an integral part of our voice production team and shows no signs of slowing down, having worked her way up to Senior PM and overseeing several AAA projects

Process and projects

Simonne describes a typical day at SIDE as “organized chaos,” but leavens that impression by continuing: “One of the things I love best about SIDE is that everyone pitches in to get the job done. We have a very reliable team.”

She further speaks on overcoming the challenges inherent to working in game audio. “Every single client, and then every single project, is different,” she says. “Being adaptable while also ensuring that all of the protocols required to produce great voiceover are followed is the most difficult aspect.”

According to a recent count, Simonne has worked on close to 90 games in her young career. “Final Fantasy XVI is the first one that I’ve worked on that I’ve also played,” she relates. “Although, I also did a teensy bit of work on The Witcher 3 PS5 remaster that I am immensely proud of. That was truly a full-circle moment!”

Simonne gives a breakdown of some of the higher-profile titles she’s been a part of and her contributions to them:

Simonne shares that the number one learning from working on these projects has been a keen sense of organization. “These projects have hundreds of characters, and meticulous notes are a must to keep track of who has voiced what!”

Through such a wide range of projects, Simonne has gained a broad knowledge of the VO solutions currently available for games, which is imperative to meet clients where they are and get them exactly what their project needs. Every developer is different, so adapting to each team’s preferences and workflows is a must.

Finally, when asked to name what she loves most about working at SIDE, she responds with a smile: “That’s easy: my colleagues.”